Academic Common Market

Participation in the Academic Common Market allows qualified students from southern states to pay in-state tuition while pursuing certain degree programs at the University of Memphis. This arrangement is available only for students whose home states do not offer the designated program. The state in which the student resides determines which of the programs offered by the University of Memphis it will make available to its students.

The Academic Common Market is sponsored by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). Participating states are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia (Florida and Texas grant access for graduate level programs only). Current SREB common market guidelines and requirements may be found on the web at http://www.sreb.org/page/1304/academic_common_market.html

Students may request through their home state coordinators that additional programs be made accessible. A list of the state coordinators with their addresses and telephone numbers may be obtained from the Academic Common Market web site http://academics.memphis.edu/currplan/

In addition to certification requirements which the student’s state of residence may specify, the following pertain: (1) Students must be fully admitted to a degree program that has been approved as an Academic Common Market program (nondegree students are ineligible); (2) students must obtain a letter certifying residency term of entry and approval for the particular University of Memphis program from their state’s Academic Common Market coordinator.

NOTE: After enrollment, students remain eligible for in-state tuition only so long as they are continuously enrolled-consecutive fall and spring terms-in the same major for which they were originally certified. If students change major, they must process a Change of Major through their advisor and notify the Office of Admissions  to change the Academic Common Market residency code on their records. Failure to process the Change of Major and to notify the Office of Admissions  may subject the student to out-of-state fees for all subsequent terms of enrollment in classes for a major other than the one for which the student received ACM certification. Missing a fall or spring term of enrollment or a change of major requires that the student be recertified through the ACM coordinator in the student’s state of residence.

Library Facilities

The University of Memphis Libraries include the Ned R. McWherter Library and five branch libraries: Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, and Music, which are contiguous to the appropriate university departments.

The McWherter Library offers many services through its Reference Department, including access to both electronic and print resources and instruction in use of all resources in the University Libraries. The Periodicals Department also offers assistance in accessing electronic resources, especially electronic full-text journals. The Government Publications Department is the Regional Federal Documents Depository for the State of Tennessee Documents. The Special Collections Departments’ largest collection, consisting of unique and rare manuscripts, cartographic, photographic, and printed materials, including the Mississippi Valley Collection, reflects the history and culture of the Mississippi River valley.

The University of Memphis Libraries maintains agreements with other local institutions for shared use of library collections by students, faculty, and staff. These institutions include Rhodes College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, Memphis Theological Seminary, Southwest Tennessee Community College, the University of Mississippi, Christian Brothers University and Mid-South Community College.

The University of Memphis Libraries’ provides access for all students and faculty to the electronic resources provided by the Libraries, including the Libraries’ catalog of its collections. Access to the website is available to all Internet users, whether at home, at an off-campus site, or at a workstation in the McWherter Library and its branch libraries.

Information Systems

The University of Memphis provides its students with access to the largest public computing resource within a 100-mile radius of Memphis. Local area networks (LANS), microcomputers, and a variety of peripherals devices (printers, scanners, plotters, etc.) are connected to an optical fiber network that covers virtually the entire 1,060 acre campus. In additions, the network is accessible via dial-in services and by using other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Information Systems will soon provide the campus with wireless access to our network. The Help Desk (678-8888) can provide information on how to apply for access to any of the services provided by Information Systems.

UofM M students, faculty, and staff have access to more than 1200 computers (both IBM PC compatibles and Apple Macintosh machines) through 54 labs located throughout campus and at 3 remote sites. In addition, more than 30 computing labs are available in the nine schools and colleges that comprise the University of Memphis. Many of these labs house special purpose software and specialized systems such as the Smith Super-lab Cluster that provided a complete parallel computing environment for research and instruction in areas requiring heavy computational computing.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS (I.S.) is responsible for providing all central computing support for administrative systems. I.S. designs and manages the infrastructure that supports these systems as well as those for instructional programs and scholarly research.  The schools and colleges operate on a distributed design that uses local support provides (LSPs) as the first line of support for departmental computing with additional support and expertise provided by I.S. Training on a wide variety of software applications is managed through the I.S. Training Center that provides formal training for students, faculty, and staff.

The University of Memphis is actively engaged in supplying instruction via the World Wide Web and providing staff support for faculty development of courseware through participation in a national consortia such as the MERLOT Group and as a member of the Early Adopter of Internet-2.  Web access to information at U of M is provided by I.S. in cooperation with Marketing and Advancement via the I.S. the Web Team (one of several self-directed teams with Information Systems). I.S. established standards and support for web-page development throughout the University.

Information Systems is a key support unit in assisting the University of Memphis achieve it goal of assuring that every graduate of the U of M is technologically fluent; that is, graduates who not only are capable of using and understanding technology within their discipline and the world in which they live, but also capable of learning new technologies as they arise and understand how technology influences changes in the world in which we will live.

Benjamin Hooks Institute for Social Change

The Institute pursues a broad programmatic agenda of research and outreach that builds upon Dr. Hooks’ lifetime of work to achieve a more just society. The Hooks Institute is committed to advancing the goals of the American Civil Rights Movement, and making Memphis a national center for  the study of the Civil Rights Movement and its legacy.

Bureau of Business and Economic Research

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research is the organized research and public service unit of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics. The programs of the bureau include public service to government agencies (state and local) and the business community, continuing education, and applied general research.

Center of Applied Psychological Research

The Center for Applied Psychological Research supports research on problems concerning health, mental health, education, schools, crime, the environment, and children and their families. The Center also supports basic scientific research in cognitive psychology, biopsychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, and research design and statistics.

Center for Earthquake Research and Information

The Center for Earthquake Research and Information was established in 1977 by the Tennessee State Legislature to provide the citizens of Tennessee, governmental agencies, and the news media such services as the following: (1) accurate, immediate reports and background information on the occurrence of regional earthquakes; (2) scientific research related to the causes and consequences of local earthquakes and to the possibility of earthquake prediction; (3) studies related to the desirability of earthquake resistant construction; (4) advice to the populace, business, government, and insurance groups on the methods, means, and feasibility of reducing earthquake damage. It operates as a research organization of the University of Memphis. It supports some undergraduate student research in seismology and geophysics and civil engineering and cooperates with the Department of Geological Sciences in offering an undergraduate degree concentration in geophysics.

Center for Research in Educational Policy

The Center for Research in Educational Policy is funded by the State of Tennessee as one of five Centers of Excellence located at the University of Memphis. CREP’s mission is to implement a research agenda associated with educational policies and practices in the pre K-12 public schools of Tennessee and the nation and to provide a knowledge base for use by educational practitioners and policymakers. Research outcomes are intended to not only describe the complexities of educational phenomena, but also offer recommendations for action.

Since 1989, the Center has served as a mechanism for mobilizing community and university resources to address educational problems and to meet the University's commitment to primary and secondary schools. The Center's research agenda is developed through analysis of persistent or emerging issues in schools and their communities, changes occurring in teacher education programs, and recommendations from educational authorities.  In the past decade, CREP has gained national recognition for its contribution to discussions of issues such as reform of teacher education, educational equity, educational technology, school reform and restructuring, urban and multicultural education, interventions for at-risk students, and using formative evaluation methods for school improvement decision-making.

Center for Health Services Research

The Center for Health Services Research is housed in the Division of Health Administration. The Center emphasizes collaborative, multi-disciplinary research focusing on issues in health care management, leadership, financing, economics, and administration. The Center’s goal is to serve as a strong partner and resource for health care organizations, both public and private, in the Mid-South region.

Center for Manpower Studies

The Center for Manpower Studies, located in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, conducts research on employment and training-related topics and provides technical assistance to federal, state, and local agencies. It also offers a variety of training programs for human resource development agencies throughout the southeast.

Edward J. Meeman Biological Station

The Edward J. Meeman Biological Station was established in 1967 to encourage and foster scientific pursuits in natural history, ecology, and environmental biology. Located about 23 miles northeast of the main campus and adjacent to Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park in northwestern Shelby County, the 623-acre station (with laboratory, classroom, and small conference facilities) provides students and faculty from the University of Memphis, as well as visiting investigators, with a unique site for research, teaching, and service activities. The station is an integral part of the Department of Biology.

Ecological Research Center

The Ecological Research Center (ERC) of the Department of Biology is organized to conduct and coordinate research, teaching, and service activities in ecology and related areas. Major areas of research include: fish culture, water quality, wildlife biology, endangered and threatened species, systematics, and physiological responses of organisms to the environment. The teaching program of the ERC provides a training program for students interested in pursuing careers in various professional fields and affords an opportunity for students to participate in activities involving contemporary environmental problems. Public service activities are primarily directed toward promoting environmental awareness and providing information and consultation services to those concerned with environmental problems.

The Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities

The Center for the Humanities was founded in 1987 and renamed in 1991 in memory of Dr. Orr, Professor of History. Its purpose is to support teacher and course development, independent and collaborative research, and public programs that will foster an understanding of the importance of the humanities and establish a sense of intellectual community among humanities faculty at the university. The center sponsors visiting scholars, course development grants, lectures, and a Humanities Fellows Program that supports faculty scholarship.

Center for Manpower Studies

The Center for Manpower Studies, located in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, conducts research on employment and training-related topics and provides technical assistance to federal, state, and local agencies. It also offers a variety of training programs for human resource development agencies throughout the southeast.

Center for Research on Women

Founded in 1982, the Center for Research on Women (CROW), located in the College of Arts and Sciences is nationally recognized for its pioneering work on race, class, and gender. CROW’s mission is to conduct, promote and disseminate scholarship on women and social inequality. Its approach to research, theory and programming emphasizes the structural relationships among race, class, gender and sexual identity, particularly in the U.S. South and among women of color. CROW-affiliated faculty span the University. They are currently engaged in action-oriented, community-based research on women in Memphis and the U.S. South; historically grounded research that makes visible global processes affecting the persistence of inequalities in the U.S. South; and the development of feminist theories and methods. CROW offers postdoctoral fellowships to scholars studying race and gender in the U.S. South, and provides graduate assistantships to students enrolled in the M.A. program in sociology.

Center for Urban Research and Extension

The Center for Urban Research and Extension provides technical assistance, research and other services for neighborhood improvement in three Memphis Enterprise Neighborhoods. The Center supports the City of Memphis’ Enterprise Community program, and collaborates with neighborhood residents as they embark upon various efforts in revitalizing their neighborhood.

Chucalissa Indian Village and Museum (C. H. Nash Museum)

This partly reconstructed prehistoric Indian village on its original site and the museum are operated by the Department of Anthropology as an educational and research facility. The indoor and outdoor exhibits are designed to reconstruct prehistoric Indian life in the Mid-South. Students are trained in the techniques of excavation, restoration and museum operations. The courses taught are listed in the Department of Anthropology offerings. Chucalissa is located 17 miles from the main campus.

Edward J. Meeman Biological Station

The Edward J. Meeman Biological Station was established in 1967 to encourage and foster scientific pursuits in natural history, ecology, and environmental biology. Located about 23 miles northwest of the main campus and adjacent to Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park in northwestern Shelby County, the 623 acre station (with laboratory, classroom, and small conference facilities) provides students and faculty from the University of Memphis, as well as visiting investigators, with a unique site for research, teaching, and service activities. The station is an integral part of the Department of Biology.

Ecological Research Center

The Ecological Research Center (ERC) of the Department of Biology is organized to conduct and coordinate research, teaching, and service activities in ecology and related areas. Major areas of research include: fish culture, water quality, wildlife biology, endangered and threatened species, systematics, and physiological responses of organisms to the environment. The teaching program of the ERC provides a training program for students interested in pursuing careers in various professional fields and affords an opportunity for students to participate in activities involving contemporary environmental problems. Public service activities are primarily directed toward promoting environmental awareness and providing information and consultation services to those concerned with environmental problems.

Integrated Microscopy Center

The Integrated Microscopy Center provides facilities and expertise in the field of light, coufocal and electron microscopy. Users of the center include researchers and graduate students in the biological and physical sciences.

The Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology

The Institute, founded in 1984 and designated a Tennessee Center of Excellence in 1985, is a component of the Art Department at the University of Memphis. The Institute is dedicated to the study of the art and culture of ancient Egypt through teaching, research, exhibition, and excavation. It is staffed by egyptologists and art historians associated with the department’s art history program. Its research library consists of more than 6000 egyptological books and periodicals including rare and out-of-print volumes. The Art Museum at the University of Memphis houses the Institute’s growing collection of Egyptian antiquities, the largest in the Mid-South. The Institute also sponsors an epigraphic project at The Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt, and the excavation of the tomb of Pharaoh Amenmessse in the Valley of the Kings.

Institute for Intelligent Systems

The Institute is designed to bring together research and training in the broad areas of cognitive science, complex dynamical systems, artificial intelligence, and massively parallel computing (neural computing). Current research includes basic research supported by grants from funding agencies and applied research supported by industrial/governmental contracts. Ideas and techniques for research are gathered from the disciplines of cognitive psychology, computer science, philosophy of mind, neuroscience, linguistics, and mathematics. Training should include graduate courses, thesis and dissertation research, and industrial training in the form of workshops, seminars, and employee research participation.

The Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities

The Center promotes interdisciplinary research and teaching in the humanities at the University of Memphis. Its various programs, including several lecture series and the sponsorship of visiting scholars, faculty seminars and symposia, are designed to encourage scholarly collaboration across departmental and college boundaries. It also seeks to promote the University’s scholarly resources in the Memphis community, by offering a variety of public programs. The Center was founded in 1987, and renamed in 1991 in honor of former history professor, D. Marcus W.  Orr.

Regional Economic Development Center (REDC)

The Regional Economic Development Center represents the University in its outreach function in the field of economic development planning. In providing technical and management assistance to the public and private sectors, the Center also serves as a laboratory for interdisciplinary research and service by faculty and graduate students in solving problems of urban and regional development. The Center’s professional planning staff have academic appointments and teach courses in City and Regional Planning. REDC is an outreach unit of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy.

Speech and Hearing Center

Located at 807 Jefferson Avenue in the medical center of Memphis, this facility became affiliated with the University in 1967. An additional site is located on the South Campus in building #44. Both locations serve children and adults with communication disorders. Students at the university are seen at no charge, while faculty and staff are seen for 50% of normal charges. The University administers and operates the center in cooperation with the Board of Directors of the Memphis Speech and Hearing Center, Inc.

Other Research Units

In addition to the units described above, the University of Memphis also recognizes a wide array of other research- oriented units:

• Anthropological Research Center
• Barbara K. Lipman Early Childhood School and Research Institute
• Bureau of Sport and Leisure Commerce
• Center of Community Health (joint with UT Memphis)
• Center for River Studies
• Computational Research of Material Institute
• Exercise and Sport Science Laboratories
• Federal Express Center for Cycle Time Research
• Groundwater Institute
• Highwater Recording Company
• Institute for Egyptian Art and Archaeology
• Institute for Gambling Education and Research
• Institute for Governmental Studies and Research
• National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Bio-Surfaces Site
• Neuropsychology Research Laboratory
• Oral History Research Office
• Religious News Association Archives
• Robert Wang Center for International Business
• Southern Music Archive
• Transportation Studies Institute
• W.H. Feinstone Center for Genomic Research

Recognized Centers and Chairs of Excellence

The University of Memphis has been designated by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission as a location for centers and chairs of excellence. The units listed below receive special funding by the State in recognition of their status.

Centers of Excellence

• Center for Applied Psychological Research
• Center for Earthquake Research and Information
• Center for Research Initiatives and Strategies for the Communicatively Impaired
• Center for Research in Educational Policy
• Center of Excellence in Egyptian Art and Archaeology

Chairs of Excellence

• Accounting (2)
• Art History
• Audiology & Speech Language Pathology
• Biomedical Engineering (2)
• Combinatoric Mathematics
• Economics and Managerial Journalism
• English
• Finance
• Free Enterprise Management
• International Business (2)
• International Economics
• Journalism
• Judaic Studies
• Law
• Management Information Systems
• Molecular Biology
• Nursing
• Philosophy
• Psychology
• Real Estate
• Sales
• Urban Education

Academic Personnel Services

The Office of Academic Personnel Services conducts the University of Memphis’ program for student evaluation of instruction. The Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SETE) uses a comprehensive approach for collecting, analyzing, and reporting student reactions to certain aspects of classroom instruction. All teaching faculty are required to participate in the student evaluation program. SETE is not to be administered during the week of final exams. Faculty receive the completed forms and a computer generated summary at the beginning of the following semester. These documents, which are an important part of the dossier prepared for tenure and promotion, also provide useful information to individual faculty members for course development and/or improvement of instruction.

International Students Office in the Center for International Programs and Services

The Office of International Students advises international students regarding immigration, health, housing, social, personal, and financial concerns. Besides advising individual students, the office advises the International Students Council. The council represents six national student associations: the African Student Association, the Chinese Student Association, the Indian Student Association, the Korean Student Association, the Malaysian Student Association, and the Muslim Student Association. The office also organizes a four-day orientation for new students each semester as well as social and cultural events that encourage international students’ involvement in the campus community and help ease their transition into the American way of life. International Night, the biggest event of the year, provides an opportunity for the international students to share their traditional food and entertainment with the campus and the Memphis community.

Psychological Services Center

The Psychological Services Center, located on the first floor of the Psychology Building, offers both psychological evaluations and therapeutic services to children and adults.

Alumni

The University of Memphis Alumni Association has offices located in the Alumni Center on campus. The staff serves the University of Memphis Alumni Association and provides a communication linkage to the University for graduates and former students. The Alumni Association and staff also offer special services for current students and serve as the sponsors for the University’s Student Ambassador Board.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities

Since 1971, students and faculty of the University of Memphis have benefited from the University’s membership in Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is a consortium of 88 colleges and universities and a contractor for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ORAU works with its member institutions to help their students and faculty gain access to federal research facilities throughout the country; to keep its members informed about opportunities for fellowship, scholarship, and research appointments; and to organize research alliances among its members.

Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), the DOE facility that ORAU operates, undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates, as well as faculty enjoy access to a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Students can participate in programs covering a wide variety of disciplines including business, earth sciences, epidemiology, engineering, physics, pharmacology, ocean sciences, biomedical sciences, nuclear chemistry, and mathematics. Appointment and program length range from one month to four years. Many of these programs are especially designed to increase the numbers of underrepresented minority students pursuing degrees in science- and engineering-related disciplines.

A comprehensive listing of these programs and other opportunities, their disciplines, and details on locations and benefits can be found in the ORISE Catalog of Education and Training Programs, which is available at http://orise.orau.gov/default.aspx, or by calling either of the contacts below.

ORAU’s Office of Partnership Development seeks opportunities for partnerships and alliances among ORAU’s members, private industry, and major federal facilities. Activities include faculty development programs, such as the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards, the Visiting Industrial Scholars Program, consortium research funding initiatives, faculty research and support programs as well as services to chief research officers.

For more information about ORAU and its programs, contact Andrew Meyers, Vice Provost for Research, ORAU Councilor for the University of Memphis; Monnie E. Champion, ORAU Corporate Secretary, at 423-576-3306; or ORAU at http://www.orau.gov.

Extended Programs

THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SERVICE serves as a prime contact for individuals and organizations outside the University. Through this office, access may be gained to University facilities and resources.

THE MEMPHIS SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER is organized to provide business development services to new and existing small business firms throughout West Tennessee. These services add to the economic development efforts of the local communities by adding and retaining employment. Special attention is given to women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses.

LAMBUTH CAMPUS offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses and degree programs to students living in the Jackson area.

THE CONTINUING EDUCATION SHORT COURSE PROGRAM serves as an important link to the Memphis community, providing comprehensive, non-credit programs ranging from professional development to personal enrichment. The program is designed to narrow the education gap left by the degree-awarding academic programs at the University of Memphis, thus complementing the University’s mission of service to the community. The program is strongly service-oriented, providing general interest instruction to learners of all ages, regardless of their educational background. The Short Course Continuing Education product is high quality, affordable, and requires no formal admission to the University.

THE KEEP TENNESSEE BEAUTIFUL program, established in 1983, serves as the state Keep America Beautiful agency and state resource center for litter prevention and proper solid waste management education. Keep Tennessee Beautiful is funded by Tennessee Department of Transportation.